Abstract

Patronage as dominant social system in the Roman world during the New Testament era Patronage was one of the most important forms of social exchange in the Roman world during the Republic as well as in Imperium Romanum. It functioned as a pervasive, voluntary form of interaction between socially disproportionate individuals and groups involved in a reciprocal exchange of material goods and services. This essay presents an overview of the nature of the various forms of interaction between patrons and their clients in the Roman world, such as that between former masters and their freedmen; the Emperor and the populus Romanus; brokers as mediators of imperial benefits to their clients; and the functions of patrons in the Roman collegia. Finally, the implications of this assessment of patronage in the Roman world for our understanding of the New Testament is discussed briefly.